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Power Shuffle

“What I didn’t realize was that I was literally writing the social history of Washington, DC. We called it the human side of power,” David Adler told Hollywood on the Potomac. Adler is currently the CEO and founder of BizBash; but back in 1975, just a month out of college at 21, he co-founded Washington Dossier with his editor mother, Sonia (Sunny Adler). It was the society magazine for the Nation’s Capital from 1975-1991.

So why are we talking about this now? For two reasons: 1) A tribute to the late Dossier cover photographer Fred Ward and 2) the Presidential change of guards that will usher in a new group of power players, leaving this years’ Rolodex in the dust once the new administration lands on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

David explained how the sport of social climbing was played then and how it is played today: “My dad Warren Adler, the novelist who wrote the War of the Roses (think Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner) and 40 other novels, owned an advertising agency at the time. He along with his staff helped us launch a 16 page newsletter style magazine to cover the Washington, DC social scene. His ad agency represented most of the real estate powers of Washington and he backed me with his office infrastructure, some cash and encouragement. We picked the top 1000 biggest players in town and captured the glamour of the social scene. It literally became the Playbook for who was in and out of the ‘Court’ of influence and power.”